The Bar Association has decided to introduce new requirements for defence lawyers working on serious criminal cases.
Among other things, the new rules are intended to prevent lawyers from taking on cases for criminals.
In order to take on defence work in cases with a minimum sentence of four years' imprisonment, from next year, five years' experience of defence work will be required, according to representatives of the Bar Association.
There will also be a requirement for lawyers to have completed a basic criminal law training course in order to take on public defence work.
The Bar Association believes that the new requirements will reduce the risk of inexperienced lawyers breaching good legal practice.
"The development of crime in Sweden has presented major challenges for defence lawyers, where serious criminals are seeking services that go beyond what is ethically justifiable," writes Mia Edwall Insulander, the Bar Association's Secretary-General, in DN Debatt.
"The competition for this type of defence work can thus be affected by unfair and illegal methods, as several cases that have been subject to disciplinary action have shown."
In recent years, several cases have been highlighted where lawyers have committed crimes or breached ethical rules. Mia Edwall Insulander believes that the new rules will contribute to clients receiving defence lawyers with sufficient competence, while reducing the risk of breaches.
"It will absolutely improve the situation. However, one cannot rule out that breaches will still occur," she says to SVT Nyheter.
